Bus stop

There we were, sitting on the bus. I had just boarded a few minutes earlier, about 5 stops back. Now we were at the last stop before heading down the hill toward the West Seattle bridge. But not yet, not until we started moving away from the bus stop. Then, we felt a bump. Hmmm... not a pothole. Because we weren't moving! Then, we realized - someone had rear-ended the bus. For us, it hardly felt like anything.

The driver walked around back to take a look. When she returned she said she'd have to fill out paperwork and we were welcome to wait or to get off and find alternatives. So, I figured I'd walk back to the previous stop and wait about 15-20 minutes for the next bus.

WOW! It had been a small car, a Toyota Corolla. They must have been going at or above the speed limit (30) and hitting the bus was like hitting a brick wall. Or, maybe like hitting a bus. The front section of the car had crumpled in, just like it's supposed to. WAY IN! But I guess it did the job. The driver and passenger both looked like they were okay and were actually apologizing to us as we walked by. For disrupting our commute. I felt so sorry for them. What a way to start THEIR commute. Their day. Their Thursday.

You know, some will say there's no excuse. That's probably true. But the sun was shining brightly that morning. I know I've come awfully close to running into things before. It just takes a couple seconds worth of distraction. Or being blinded by sun while looking for your shades. Or any number of things.

But I was relieved that they were seemingly physically okay, walking around and talking, etc. They were younger (20's?) so hopefully will recover from any physical or mental trauma that may arise from such an experience. I've been in a fender bender before but nothing like that. For me, even a little accident / incident can mess me up for awhile.

Ultimately, the next bus came as expected and I was a little late for work. No big deal. But what a morning.